More than 400 recognized at Oakland County Sheriff's Office awards ceremony

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard talks with Edward "Punch" Andrews during the National Peace Officers Day Annual Awards. Andrews received a Citizens Citation for donation two K-9 dogs to the Sheriff's Office. Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Tim Thompson-The Oakland Press

LIFE SAVING CITATION

Five men earned a Life Saving Citation during Wednesday’s awards ceremony. They include:

• Deputy Michael Blaszczak

• Deputy Todd Chatterson

• Deputy Neal Curran

• Deputy John Dobrowiak

• Deputy Mark Mackie

PONTIAC >> A Highland Township man who pulled his neighbor out of a burning home was one of more than 400 people who received awards Wednesday as the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office celebrated National Peace Officers Day.

The event, held annually, took place at the Oakland County Board of Commissioners auditorium.

Trevor Von Buskirk was among 14 citizens who were recognized during the ceremony. In January, Von Buskirk noticed that his neighbor’s house was on fire. He rushed to the residence, crawled inside and dragged the homeowner to safety.

“Everything just fell into place,” Von Buskirk told The Oakland Press shortly after the fire.

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“I hadn’t had work in a few weeks and I was … just feeling down and wondering what I was going to do. A day later, this happens. Now I know that’s where I was supposed to be.”

Von Buskirk’s wife first noticed the fire, and Von Buskirk ran to the home and heard his neighbor faintly calling for help. He kicked in the door and, seeing a dark cloud of smoke, crawled toward 63-year-old Steven Heyn’s voice and pulled him to safety.

Von Buskirk was overcome with emotion following the rescue, breaking down in tears in his son’s bedroom after returning home.

Other citizens who were recognized Wednesday include:

• Raymond Lucier, a Troy resident. On Sept. 28, Lucier heard people in distress in the water at Yates Park in Rochester Hills. He found three people — including an 8-year-old — in need of help. He swam across the river, grabbed the child and handed him to a deputy who had responded to the scene.

• Terry Lee Kidd of Highland Township, who pulled a car accident victim from a burning vehicle in September.

• Ryan Graham, a boy who returned a wallet with a large sum of money inside.

• Edward “Punch” Andrews of Birmingham and Mary Jo Patel of Metamora, both of whom received awards for the funding they’ve provided to the sheriff’s office. Andrews’ donations have allowed K-9 deputies Seger and Clay to join the force, while Patel’s contributions have brought K-9 deputies Blitz and Charge on board.

• Chad Hetchler, of Rochester Hills, who provided information about a breaking and entering suspect attempting to sell stolen property to him, helping detectives make an arrest.

• Doug Rivers, a Warren resident who assisted the computer crimes unit with presentations to staff about topics like computer hacking and terrorism.

• Derek Timm, a former Brighton resident who was twice the victim of an armed robbery committed by the same suspect in Lyon Township. Timm visited the Lyon substation numerous times to look through photo line-ups and ultimately recognized the suspect on one of those occasions, leading to an arrest.

• Harvey Lee Wilson and his dog Lincoln, who noticed two people looking into vehicles in a parking lot. A short time later he saw the same vehicle and suspects in the same parking lot and notified police. Deputies stopped the suspects and recovered stolen property.

• Tracey Derek, an EMT from Addison Township, helped rescue a car accident victim who was unable to breathe after striking a tree on Jan. 9, 2013.

• Three people received recognition for rescuing an unresponsive child from a pool in July. Olaf Nitsche and Todd Sam — both of Rochester Hills —and Grace Shapic of Troy pulled the boy out and helped restore his breathing.